67: Chapter 67 Old man, you smell so good!

The fortune-telling old man sat cross-legged on a prayer mat, his murky old eyes slightly narrowed as he sized up the youth who had suddenly appeared before him.

Meridian Opening Realm, Sixth Layer.

His Qi was unstable, his Foundation shaky; at a glance, he was clearly one of those flashy types built up by Medicinal Pills, all show and no substance.

In ordinary times, he wouldn't even bother to glance at such trash.

But at this moment—the old man felt a surge of inexplicable unease in his heart.

This youth had appeared too suddenly.

His Divine Thought had been covering a radius of one hundred zhang, and no movement could escape his perception.

Yet this youth seemed to have popped out of thin air, silent and without the slightest warning.

The old man suppressed his inner strangeness, put on his signature inscrutable expression, and said calmly: "Little Friend, why do you say that? I am a Xuanmen mystic, traveling the world, using the Dao of divination to enlighten those fated. Those Cultivators voluntarily entered the Secret Realm to seek Opportunity, what does that have to do with me?"

Shen Qingyuan's lips curled slightly, his hands tucked into his sleeves as he leaned lazily against the old locust tree.

"Enlighten those fated?"

He chuckled, his gaze sweeping up and down over the old man, his tone playful: "An Old Turtle, not staying put in the Tiannan Mountains, running to Guangnan City to play the ghost, and still talking about enlightening the fated? What kind of fate are you enlightening them to? The fate on the road to the Yellow Springs?"

Under his Spirit Eye Divine Pupil, the old man's identity could no longer be hidden.

A demon! And a Great Demon King at that! A being comparable to the Asking Dao Realm.

Hearing Shen Qingyuan's words, the old man's expression changed drastically!

A terrifying glint flashed through his murky old eyes, and the Qi around his body suddenly condensed!

But in just an instant, he returned to his calm and indifferent appearance, saying faintly: "Little Friend is joking. I have Cultivated for a thousand years and seen all kinds of Cultivators, but I have never seen someone like you. Little Friend, speaking so recklessly is likely to bring trouble upon yourself; you should be more careful in the future..."

"Hehe—" Shen Qingyuan chuckled, sat down in front of the stall, and said somewhat teasingly: "Old Turtle, has anyone ever told you that making soup with an Old Turtle is a great tonic!"

The old man looked at Shen Qingyuan, his expression flickering between shadow and light.

Did this brat really see through his identity?

He was a Asking Dao Realm Great Demon King, and he had practiced a unique secret technique to conceal his own Qi.

In all his years traveling the world, he had met more than one Saint, yet no one had seen through his identity. How did this brat before him see through him?

He secretly formed hand seals, casting his art of divination.

He had Cultivated for three thousand years, and most of his skills were in the Dao of divination.

This technique was called the "Heavenly Secret Calculation Art," a Legacy he had obtained from an ancient ruin back in the day, and it was incredibly profound.

Perhaps due to his species, he had decent talent in this Dao of calculation.

Ordinary Cultivators found it hard to even get started, yet he grasped it easily, achieving success in just a few decades.

As long as the other party's cultivation was not too much higher than his own, he could calculate their background and origins, and even catch a glimpse of their future Karma.

As his fingers formed seals and spiritual power flowed, an invisible fluctuation spread from his palm, enveloping Shen Qingyuan.

However—the moment that fluctuation touched Shen Qingyuan!

"Boom!"

A thunderclap exploded in the old man's mind!

A terrifyingly extreme force of backlash surged in like a tide, instantly shattering his Divine Soul defense and raging wildly within his Sea of Consciousness!

"Pfft—"

The old man spat out a mouthful of blood, toppling over onto the prayer mat. His face turned paper-white instantly, blood flowed from his seven orifices, his whole body trembled, and his eyes were filled with absolute horror.

"Impossible... impossible..."

His voice was hoarse, filled with uncontrollable trembling.

He was a dignified Asking Dao Realm Sixth Layer Great Demon, who had roamed the Tiannan Mountains for three thousand years, and the Dao of divination was his signature skill.

Even if the other party were a Saint, he could still catch a glimpse.

But in that instant just now, he clearly felt that what his Divine Thought touched was not a person, but a vast, boundless sea of stars!

That sea of stars was deep and boundless, containing terrifying power capable of destroying the world. The moment his Divine Thought touched it, it was crushed and shattered by that power!

The force of the backlash flooded back along his Divine Thought, nearly shattering his Divine Soul on the spot!

"Who exactly are you?"

The old man widened his eyes, staring fixedly at Shen Qingyuan, his voice trembling.

Shen Qingyuan did not answer, only walking slowly in front of him, looking down at him with a playful curve to his lips.

"Who I am is not important, but I am quite interested in you."

The old man was stunned. Glancing at the street not far away, he realized that the area he was in seemed to have been isolated, existing in a different world from the nearby street.

This is a great Divine Ability!

He understood that he could not afford to provoke the youth before him.

This person was definitely not some Meridian Opening Realm Junior; he was likely some old monster out to play in the Mortal World.

"Sen... Senior..."

The old man's voice was shaking. He struggled to crawl up from the ground, knelt down with a thud before Shen Qingyuan, and kowtowed repeatedly.

"This Junior had eyes but failed to recognize Mount Tai and offended Senior. Please, Senior, forgive me!"

Shen Qingyuan looked down at him, his eyes carrying a hint of mockery.

"Worthy of being an Old Turtle, you are slick enough!"

The old man's mouth twitched, his heart filled with bitterness.

What else could he be but slick? He couldn't win if he fought, and he couldn't escape.

If he really fought to the death, he might actually end up as a pot of old soup!

If nothing else, he was quite confident in his own body.

Having Cultivated for thousands of years, his flesh and blood, if paired with some precious medicinal herbs, would be a great tonic not just for ordinary Cultivators, but even for Saints.

"Alright, get up."

The old man felt as if he had been granted amnesty, standing up tremblingly and standing to the side with his hands hanging down, not daring to even breathe loudly.

"Speak."

Shen Qingyuan leaned lazily against the old locust tree, his hands tucked into his sleeves. "What is going on with that devilish lair in the Secret Realm?"

After the Great Emperors Secret Realm opened, he had investigated the entire Secret Realm.

The situation inside the Secret Realm had also surprised him slightly.

The entire Secret Realm was fragmented and on the verge of collapse, not at all like a Small World evolved by a Great Emperor powerhouse.

And in the center of the Secret Realm, there was an extremely huge pit, with rolling Devilish Qi inside, and evil demon energy raging; it was completely a devilish lair.

The old man trembled all over, a trace of fear flashing in his blood-red eyes.

He swallowed hard, his voice hoarse: "Senior, that devilish lair... was left behind by the great battle sixty years ago."

"Sixty years ago, powerhouses from the Central Province gathered and entered this Great Emperors Secret Realm to fight for the relics. That battle was earth-shattering, and more than half of the space in the Secret Realm collapsed. But what really caused the Secret Realm to become like this was not the melee between those Saint Realm powerhouses, but the battle that followed."

"The battle that followed?"

Shen Qingyuan raised an eyebrow.

The old man nodded, a flash of deep apprehension in his eyes.

"Sixty years ago, after that melee, the Great Emperor's relic was finally snatched away by the Heavenly Fiend Demon Venerable."

"Heavenly Fiend Demon Venerable?"

A strange look flashed in Shen Qingyuan's eyes.